Johnson, an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Hampton University and the first woman in such a capacity in the Pirates' history, has the guns to go with her job description.

She also has athletic chops, honed by years of tutoring from her father, Ron Johnson, a longtime assistant coach at Peninsula District football powerhouse Phoebus High.

"My dad coached the quarterbacks at Phoebus for, like, 15 years, so I always knew how to throw a football — like really throw a football," said Johnson, who estimated she can consistently hit targets from up to 30 yards. "Once I got out there and showed them that, it was all respect."

Such measures aren't necessary, though, for the athletes who've worked with Johnson since she began her HU job a few months ago.

Julio Sanchez, a rising senior linebacker on the Pirates' football team, said he'd never had a female strength and conditioning coach before, but said Johnson was better than 95 percent of his previous coaches.

"I've done a lot of workouts with her that I've never done before. The next day, I can feel it working," Sanchez said. "She's consistent. If she tells you she's going to meet you at 7:30, she'll be there at 7 waiting for you."

Johnson, 27, a 2003 graduate of Bethel High, was on course for a teaching degree at Hagerstown (Md.) Community College, where she also played basketball. But a weightlifting class changed her mind, and after transferring to Barton (N.C.) College, she pursued fitness as a career.

"I just got really involved in it and couldn't stop," Johnson said. "It's almost like an illegal drug. (The industry) is forever changing. I'm constantly doing my research to make myself a better coach."

Johnson's enthusiasm — and her knowledge — were immediately evident to HU women's basketball coach David Six. Six, who'd coached Johnson on an AAU team when she was at Bethel and Six was the coach at Hampton High, asked Johnson to help train his players before the start of the 2010-11 season.

"I knew Veronica was a maniac in terms of working out, (and) I knew what an infectious personality she had, how the kids gravitated toward her," Six said. "The kids just loved her. They asked, 'Is Veronica going to come back?' "

Six lobbied HU athletic director Lonza Hardy to hire Johnson full-time. Six said he thought it would be good to have a woman on the strength staff, but "first and foremost, she knows her stuff," Six said. "Her ability transcends gender. … She has the ability, when you're working, to make you think you're not working. She makes it fun for the athletes, but she's got an intensity.

Johnson, who works with athletes in all of HU's sports, also trains Six and men's basketball coach Ed Joyner, along with a few professors.

"It's something that I love to do. It's like not even coming to work," Johnson said. "It's not like I'm sitting at a desk behind a computer all day. That's not the job for me. I cannot sit still for more than five minutes."

As a child, Johnson's energy was channeled into sports, including rec league football, which she played, along with her two brothers, when she was 9. She was — naturally — a quarterback.

"Helmet, shoulder pads, the whole nine yards," Johnson said. "My mom didn't mind. She wanted me to try anything. (But) after getting hit a few times, I didn't want to play anymore. It was like, basketball it is."

Johnson, Bethel's starting point guard, made an impact in college. At Hagerstown, she scored 34 points in a game as a sophomore, and she also set a still-standing school record by making nine 3-pointers in a game.

Johnson shoots with the Lady Pirates when she can. She likes that her job affords her such access to athletics. It also helps her feel she's making a difference.

"There's a lot of health issues in my family," said Johnson, whose grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. An aunt is currently battling cancer, and her grandfather had a heart condition. "It just kind of opened my eyes to be in shape and to not let myself go downhill."

She's not going to let that happen to anyone she works with at Hampton, either.

"She looks like she might be sweet, but she's totally different in the weight room," Sanchez said. "She stays on top of you in the weight room. She makes sure you do what you're supposed to do. … She pushes you. No slacking."